In the new state parliament in Thuringia, the AfD is the strongest party with 32 seats. Everyone has ruled out a coalition with the party. Will there be talks after all?
Erfurt – Following the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony, initial exploratory talks on possible government coalitions in the two states began last week. AfD invites people to talks, but has not had much success so far.
Media such as Worldthat an initiative by the Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke has so far been unsuccessful. Last week, he had contact with the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) as well as the one with the Thuringian CDU According to a statement by the AfD, the BSW had already rejected the invitation to talks on Thursday, and the CDU has not yet responded at all.
Discussions about a possible AfD coalition: unconstitutional or not?
The CDU in Thuringia is already making initial moves to adjust its course on the AfD, as reported by MDRFor example, the former Thuringian state parliament member Michael Heym, who did not stand for election in 2024, told the newspaper Free Word publicly called for the incompatibility decision with the party to be reconsidered on the basis of the election results in Thuringia.
His argument: If the party was actually anti-constitutional, it should have been excluded from participating in the state elections. Since this did not happen and the party has
such strong support among the electorate, it must also be considered as a possible coalition partner, according to Heym’s reasoning. The CDU, which is the second strongest force in the state parliament with 23 seats after the AfD with 32 seats, is currently planning a government coalition without the party, which was already classified as “certainly right-wing extremist” by the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution in 2021.
Possible coalitions after Thuringia election: dispute over cooperation with the Left
But in order to get the necessary majority for a CDU-led state government, the Thuringian CDU top candidate Mario Voigt has to bring together a number of different positions. Due to the strong performance of the AfD, at least a three-way alliance would be mathematically possible, for example between the CDU, BSW and SPD or CDU, BSW and Left PartyTo achieve a majority in Thuringia’s state parliament, the future governing coalition must have at least 45 seats.
What makes things even more complicated: Just like with the AfD, cooperation with the Left Party is strictly speaking subject to an incompatibility resolution by the federal CDU, which was recently tightened up by some CDU politicians with the argument that it should also apply to the BSW, which split from the Left Party this year. At the federal level, the party is calling for an end to aid to Ukraine and a ban on the stationing of US missiles in Germany. (saka)
#AfD #man #Höcke #invites #talks #BSW #CDU #react #differently
